Board-type game apparatus employing playing pieces with sets of indicia thereon

ABSTRACT

A football game having two sets of game pieces positionable on a game board, a chance spinner for determining play outcome and a player selector for indicating which game pieces are involved on a particular play. The spinner carries segmented areas of indicia of different colors. The circumferential lengths of such areas are statistically weighted so that certain areas are selected more often than others. Each of certain game pieces carries a set of indicia which is a sub-group of the indicia on the spinner. Different game pieces have different sub-groups depending on the type of player represented. Each game piece carries a player indicium and the player selector carries the same indicia. The contestants each selected a play formation and line their pieces up opposite each other on the game board. The offensive contensant uses the player selector to designate the ball carrier on a running play and to designate where the ball carrier will run. The spinner is spun to determine the outcome of play between opposing game pieces. If the color selected appears on an offensive piece, he is successful in blocking a defender. If the color does not appear on the offensive piece he is considered to have been overcome by the defender. The statistical weighting of the spinner is such that the play results are realistic.

United States Patent 1191 Board Connecticut Ave., Bethesda, Md. 20008[22] Filed: Jan. 27, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 221,473

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 872,682, Oct.30, 1969,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 273/94 R, 273/88, 273/93 R [51] Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 [58]Field of Search 273/85 R, 88, 93, 94 R, 273/131 1 134 AD, 1341312 135 c[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1924 Clark 273/94 R3/1925 OConnor 273/93 R 1,596,175 8/1926 Gregg 273/94 R 2,549,708 4/1951Post 273/135 AC FQREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,554,936 12/1968 France273/134CF 3,212 11/1905 Great Britain... 2 73 /l3 lBB PrimaryExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerPaul E. Shapiro Attorney,Agent, or F irm-Shapiro & Shapiro A football game having two sets ofgame pieces positionable on a game board, a chance spinner fordetermining play outcome and a player selector for indicating which gamepieces are involved on a particular play. The spinner carries segmentedareas of indicia of different colors. The circumferential lengths ofsuch areas are statistically weighted so that certain areas are selectedmore often than others. Each of certain game pieces carries a set ofindicia which is a subgroup of the indicia on the spinner. Differentgame pieces have different sub-groups depending on the type of playerrepresented. Each game piece carries a player indicium and the playerselector carries the same indicia. The contestants each selected a playformation and line their pieces up opposite each other on the gameboard. The offensive contensant uses the player selector to designatethe ball carrier on a running play and to designate where the ballcarrier will run. The spinner is spun to determine the outcome of playbetween opposing game pieces. If the color selected appears on anoffensive piece, he is successful in blocking a defender. If the colordoes not appear on the offensive piece he is considered to have beenovercome by the defender. The statistical weighting of the spinner issuch that the play results are realistic.

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BY 5/70 0170 610d 550 000 ATTORNEYS BOARD-TYPE GAME APPARATUS EMPLOYINGPLAYING PIECES WITH SETS OF INDICIA THEREON This is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 872,682, filed Oct. 30, I969 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to game apparatus andmore particularly to games employing a game board and associated playingpieces movable with respect to spaces delineated on the game board.

In game apparatus known heretofore it is common to employ a plurality ofplaying pieces in association with a game board, the playing piecesbeing movable from space to space upon the board as dictated by achangecontrolled device. Simulated baseball and football games employingthis principle are well known. Although such games permit utilization ofplaying pieces to represent the existence and movement of players on anactual field, it has not heretofore been possible to provide the type ofrealism which characterizes the actual game, because of the limitedinter-relationships of the game pieces and the limited play resultsavailable from chance-controlled devices. A game employing pieces whichmerely move from space to space, in the manner of checkers, asdetermined by the throw of dice or the spinning of a spinner, forexample, has limited appeal to a fan of the real game. In actual gamesplayed upon fields by human players a wide variety of factors entersinto the play results. Usually, for a given stratagem selected by oneteam a wide variety of play results may be possible, influenced by thestratagem of the op posing team and by individual inter-relationships ofplayers, in addition to chance. Games in which each piece is identifiedby a number or color to permit selection by a chance-controlled deviceare known, but such games fail to provide any degree of play variationfor individual pieces and fail to permit simulation of statisticallyrealistic play results.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a principal objectof the present invention to provide improved game apparatus whichovercomes the limitations of prior game apparatus employing game boardsin association with playing pieces to simulate actual games.

Briefly stated, the present invention employs playing pieces inassociation with a game board which may simulate an actual playingfield, at least some of the pieces having sets of indicia thereonrelated to indicia of other playing pieces and/or indicia of achance-controlled device. Play results may therefore be influenced bythe selection of particular playing pieces having particular sets ofindicia, by the choice of opposing playing pieces, and bychance-controlled devices having indicia correlated with the indicia ofthe playing pieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be furtherdescribed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustratepreferred and exemplary embodiments of the invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a game board employed in a simulated game ofbaseball in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the game board of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views of spinners employed in conjunction withthe game board of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 59 are plan views of representative playing pieces employed withthe game board of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a game board (with associated pieces)simulating a football field in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an enlarged fragment of the board of FIG. 10illustrating the relationship of certain playing pieces;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a spinner employed in conjunction with thegame board of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a selection device employed in conjunctionwith the game board of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, andinitially to FIG. 1 thereof, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention, a game board 10 is employed which simulates a baseballplaying field. The board is provided with a grid of polar coordinatelines, including a plurality of straight lines radiating from the originat home plate 12 intersecting with a series'of expanding arcs centeredupon home plate. The spaces between successive arcs are designated byletters at the ends of the arcuate spaces, and the spaces betweensuccessive radial lines are identified by numbers at the end of suchspaces remote from home plate. Thus, by specifying a letter coordinateand a number coordinate, it is possible to locate any one of theplurality of generally rectangular spaces delineated on the board by thepolar coordinate grid network. The coordinates are utilized in locatingthe rectangular space 14 upon the playing field in which a hit balllands.

Superimposed upon the polar coordinate grid network and coveringsubstantially the entire network is a mesh of hexagonal spaces 16. Thesespaces are utilized in conjunction with hexagonal playing pieces (whichwill be described hereinafter) and serve to guide the movement of theplaying pieces. It will be noted from FIG. 2 that the board is providedwith base representations 18, 20 and 22 and with a pitchers moundrepresentation 24.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate spinners 26 and 28 which are employed todetermine play results. Each spinner comprises a card 30 and a rotatableneedle 32 for selecting, by chance, indicia located in a pair ofconcentric rings divided by radial lines into sectors. The rings havedifferent background colors, which, as will be set forth more fullyhereinafter, are correlated with the colors of indicia of playingpieces. Thus the outer ring of FIG. 3 may be red and the inner ringblue. Similarly, the outer ring of FIG. 4 may be yellow and the innerring green.

FIGS. 5-9 illustrate typical playing pieces 34-42 employed in thebaseball game. Each is a hexagonal block having indicia on at least oneside thereof. The playing piece 34 of FIG. 5 represents a pitcher, andthe piece is so designated by a legend. Associated with each of the sixedges is an indicium designating the type of pitch which may beselected. F stands for fast ball; C stands for curve; S stands forslider; 0 stands for outside; G stands for grooved; and PO stands forpitch out. Each of the indicia F,C,S, and O has associated therewith acorresponding numeral 1,2,3 or 4. It will be noted that each of theremaining playing pieces illustrated has a legen designating the type ofbatter and has indicia along a plurality of edges thereof constituting aset of indicia for the particular playing piece. Also associated withthe indicia-bearing edges are the letters F (fast ball), C (curve), S(slider), T (take) and l-l.A. (hit away). In the examples shown certainof the indicia are colored blocks, while others are directplaydetermining symbols per se, namely, balls and strikes (B and S). Thenumerals 1-4 of the pitcher piece of FIG. designate correspondingindicia associated with each of the indicia-bearing edges of the batterpieces as measured from left to right along the edge when viewing thealphabetical indicia with proper orientation. Thus, for example, thenumber l in FIG. 5 designates the first indicium at the left along anyedge of a batter piece. In the piece shown in FIG. 6, this woulddesignate the indicium B associated with the upper-most edge. It wouldalso designate the green indicium block of the edge designated by C, theyellow block of the edge designated by F, etc. Similarly, the number 2in FIG. 5 designates the red indicium block of the uppermost edge of thepiece in FIG. 6 and designates the second indicium of each of the otheredges as measured from the left end of the edge.

The colored block indicia of the batter pieces of FIGS. 6-9 correspondto the rings of the spinners having the same colors. Thus the redindicia blocks of the batter pieces refer to the red outer ring ofspinner 26, the yellow indicia blocks to the yellow outer ring ofspinner 28, and the green and blue indicia blocks to the correspondinginner rings of the spinners.

The sets of indicia displayed by the various batter pieces arestatistically weighted so that certain typesof batters, as representedby the pieces, have greater batting ability than others and so thatdepending upon what type of pitch is thrown and what type of pitch isexpected (or hitting stratagem selected) by the batter, the results willbe indicative of the types of results which statistically prevail in anactual baseball game. In the case of the colored block indicia, theparticular colors present on a given batter piece and the number oftimes that such colors appear reflect the statistical weighting of thedata, because the spinners produce play-determining symbols which varyin accordance with the color. Moreover, the types of *hits" produced asthe result of spinning each spinner differ because of the differentcircumferential extents of the regions of the spinner rings for thedifferent kinds of hits. This may be seen, for example, by comparing thehigh fly region of the outer ring of spinner 26 with the identicallydesignated region of the outer ring of the spinner ring 28. It will beobserved that in one case the high fly region occupies four sectoralunits, while in the other case it occupies five sectoral units. There isclearly a greater chance of obtaining a high fly hit when thecircumferential extent is greater. The numbers and capital letters whichappear upon the various sectors of the spinners designate the polarcoordinates of the rectangular spaces previously referred to on the gameboard. The lower case letters indicate whether the ball is hit to theleft or to the right of a particular coordinate space, certaincoordinate spaces in the outfield being separated into left and rightregions by dash lines as shown in FIG. 1. Since the mesh of hexagonalspaces is not exactly congruent with the polar coordinate grid, certainhexagonal spaces are provided with hash marks as shown in FIG. 2, onesuch marked space being provided for each of the polar coordinate spaces(two where left and right divisions are used). It is upon the hashmarked hexagonal spaces that the ball lands.

ln the playing of the game of baseball in accordance with the inventioneach of two human contestants representing team managers, for example,selects or is provided with nine playing pieces representing a team.Each team will have at least one pitcher (the opposite side of thepitcher playing piece may be provided with batter indicia like that ofthe other batter playing pieces). The batting characteristics of thebatters (in terms of the indicia on the playing pieces) may be selectedto simulate particular players and thus to permit the assembly of a teamsimulating an actual baseball team. The batter playing pieces may alsoserve as fielders, and the reverse side of the batter playing pieces maybe provided with fielding ability indicia, as will be described morefully hereinafter.

The outfielder playing pieces (batter pieces may be used upside down)are positioned (as determined by the defensive team manager) uponappropriate hexagonal spaces of the outfield, and the infielder piecesare similarly positioned upon infield spaces. The space upon which aball lands is determined by the spinners. If a defensive player occupiesthat space the ball is considered to be caught on the fly.

The pitch to be thrown" is determined by one team manager by aligning anedge of the piece (points of the playing piece may also be used) withthe edge of the pitchers mound 24 remote from home plate. The pitch tobe expected or batting tactic is determined by the other team manager byaligning a selected edge of a batter piece with the right or left sideof home plate. The managers keep their respective choices hidden fromeach other until such time as they are simultaneously exposed. Therelative orientation of the pitcher piece and the batter piece theninfluence the play result, the pitcher having effectively chosen anindex number and the batter having effectively chosen a set of edgeindicia, the result being an immediate play determination (ball orstrike) or a reference to a designated spinner (by color), which may bespun by the batter, for example, to produce the final playdetermination.

The statistical data produces more favorable play results if the batterguesses which pitch is coming, that is, there is a greater likelihood ofa hit. Moreover, good hitters will have more consistent favorableresults than poor hitters. The likelihood of a hit may vary from 15percent to 50 percent depending upon the particular spinner ringdesignated by the correlation of pitcher piece orientation and batterpiece orientation.

If desired, pitcher characteristics may be simulated by providing thepitcher piece with a notation indicating that, under certaincircumstances, a more favorable or less favorable spinner circle shouldbe used instead of that designated by the batter piece indicia, orindicating that the length of the hit should be increased or reduced bya given number of spaces.

When the ball is hit" as the result of a spinner determination, ahitting turn begins. The spinner tells where the ball is hit (where itwill land) in terms of polar coordinates and states how it was hit(liner, fly, grounder). A marker representing the ball is moved to thedesignated space. The batter piece is moved toward first base, travelingupon the hexagonal spaces. The batter piece may move a prescribed numberof spaces (such as two) or the number of spaces can be determined inaccordance with the batters running ability (which may be designatedupon the piece). Fielders (which have previously been positioned bytheir manager) may move a certain number of hexagonal spaces (such astwo spaces) to field the ball or the number of spaces to be covered fora particular fielder may be designated on the playing piece by anindicium. If a fielder piece reaches the spot where-the ball lands inthis turn, the ball has been caught on the fly and the batter is out. Ifnot, the ball must be fielded on the roll (as it moves away from homeplate) during subsequent regular turns. During the hitting turn batterpieces already on base move ahead a prescribed number of spaces (e.g.,two) in the usual manner. The number of hexagonal spaces traveled by athrown ball, once a fielder reaches it, may be designated (for examplefive spaces) or may vary with the throwing ability of each fielder asspecified by an indicium on the corresponding playing pieces.

After the hitting turn, subsequent regular turns are taken during whichfielders, the rolling hit ball, the thrown ball, and runners all maytravel a number of hexagonal spaces per turn as specified by the rulesof the game and their individual characteristics. For example, the hitball may travel three polar coordinate spaces per turn on the roll forthe first regular turn, two polar coordinate spaces on the next regularturn and one on the next regular turn. The fielders may move twohexagonal spaces per turn, the runners two hexagonal spaces per turn. Athrown ball may travel six hexagonal spaces per turn. When a fielderintercepts the ball, he can throw it toward other players covering thebases. The runner or runners travel from base to base, moving theprescribed number of hexagonal spaces per turn. Put outs, force outs,etc., ensue as in actual baseball, depending on where the players andthe ball are. In general play follows the conventional rules ofbaseball.

FIG. illustrates a game board and playing pieces employed in a simulatedgame of football in accordance with the invention. The game board 44 isprovided with a rectangular grid of spaces for the movement of pieces 46representing the players of opposing football teams. The offensive anddefensive formations are selected by the team managers (gamecontestants).

Typical playing pieces, illustrated in FIG. 11, comprise discs withletters designating the type of player and have sets of indiciadisplayed thereon. L stands for lineman, C stands for center, QB standsfor quarterback, HB stand for halfback, and FE stands for fullback. Theremaining pieces of each team 1 (not shown in detail) are similarlydesignated by legends and provided with sets of indicia. The offensivepieces may be distinguished from the defensive pieces by theirbackground color. For example, offensive pieces may be white, whiledefensive pieces may be blue. The sets of indicia comprise coloredblocks along the circumference of the playing pieces and are utilized inplay determinations. Playing pieces having many different combinationsof indicia may be provided so as to permit assembly of realistic teamswith different performance characteristics. The arrow markings on thepieces indicate the direction of movement of the piece,

which may be selected by the manager. Performance rating indicia arealso shown by the additional colored blocks adjacent to theplayer-designating legends of certain pieces, such as the fullback (FE)and the halfback (HB).

FIG. 12 illustrates a chance-controlled device, namely a spinner 48,which may be employed in the football game of the invention. The spinnerincludes the usual card 50 and rotatable arrow 52. A circular banddisplayed upon the card is divided into sectoral regions of differentcolors corresponding to the indicia colors displayed upon playingpieces. Only some of the colored indicia of the spinner appear on anygiven playing piece, however, and the color combinations vary from pieceto piece.

FIG. 13 illustrates a selector 52 which may be employed in the game. Theselector includes a card 54 having a plurality of pointed sliders 56,58,60 and 62 slidable in associated slots 64,66, and 68. Slider 56 is usedto select symbols designating the offensive lineman past which a runningplay is executed (end, tackle, guard or center). Slider 58 selectssymbols designating the ball carrier (end, halfback, quarterback,fullback,

flanker or end). Slider 60 selects symbols designating the pass pattern(down and out, button hook, straight and out, down and in). Slider 62serves two functions. The upper (pointed) portion is used to selectsymbols which designate the primary pass receiver on a pass play. Thelower portion (provided with an arrow head marking) is used to selectsymbols'which designate pulling linemen on running plays.

In the playing of the game the playing pieces representing the offensiveand defensive teams are lined up by their managers on the field in thedesired kick-off formation. A marker representing the ball is thenkicked by spinning the spinner 48, the length of the kick beingdetermined (in accordance with the rules of the game) by the coloredindicia of the kicker, as indicated by the spinner. While the ball is inthe air the offensive pieces may move six spaces, for example, while thedefensive pieces may move four spaces, for

. example. The team managers may move as many or as few of the pieces asdesired. The ball is caught" by a player reaching the space where theball lands. Then the managers take turns moving their pieces (two spacesper piece) until the ball is "down." This occurs when the ball-carrieris reached by a piece of the other side and a successful tackle is made,as will be set forth later.

On the first down, the offensive team manager selects a play on selector52, keeping it hidden. Then the defensive team manager establishes thedefensive lineup of pieces on the board. Then the offensive team managerestablishes the offensive formation. The defensive team manager may thenshift certain players (two squares maximum each). The offensive teammanager then makes blocking assignments by turning certain playingpieces to point their arrows toward certain opposing playing pieces. Theball is then centeredto the selected playing piece. The offensive teammanager then spins the spinner to determine the results of line ofscrimmage blocking. The results of all such blocking assignments aredetermined by one spin, avoiding cumbersome individual blockingdeterminations at the scrimmage line. If the offensive playing piece inquestion has displayed thereon the color selected by the spinner, theblock is successful. Successful blocks may be represented by moving thesuccessful piece on top of the blocked piece. Unsuccessful blocks may bedesignated by removing the unsuccessful piece. The provision ofstatistically weighted sets of indicia on linemen ensures the simulationof real blocking patterns. Although each lineman may have a unique setof colored indicia, for a group of linemen certain colors will appearmore frequently than others. Thus four out of seven linemen may have ared indicium, for example, and blocks involving such linemen may besuccessful 40 percent of the time, as determined by the extent of thered sector of the spinner. Different percentages will emerge for othercolors.

When a pass play is announced, the quarterback can only move one spaceafter announcement. The offensive team manager spins the spinner to seewhether the pass is accurate. The defensive team manager then spins thespinner to see if the nearest defensive player is successful in knockingdown the ball. Blocks which are not executed at the line of scrimmageare tested for success by individual spins of the spinner. Alternateoffensive and defensive play action (which may include the movement ofeach playing piece two spaces, except a blocked player) continues untilthe ball is down. This is determined, when the space occupied by theball carrier is reached by an opposing player, by the spinning of thespinner. A successful tackle occurs if the spinner indicates a colordisplayed by the tackler. At completion of a play the selector 52 isexposed to confirm the play selected.

The sets of indicia on the playing pieces (which may be termed partialsets," because there are fewer indicia than in the total set shown onthe spinner) govern player interactions such as blocking, tackling, passcatching, interceptions, etc. Thus each piece can have an individualperformance rating (manifested by the colored blocks) with regard toblocking, tackling, pass catching, etc. Since different colored regionsof the spinner circle have different circumferential lengths, theprobability of a particular region being selected varies accordingly.Thus, by the provision of the indicia comprising the partial sets on theplaying pieces, player performance, in terms of the probability that aparticular indicium will be selected by the spinner, is established foreach of the pieces. It is thus possible to assemble interesting teamsand to produce play results which closely simulate the play results foractual teams. lndicia partial sets displayed at different places uponthe playing pieces may be employed for different types of performanceratings.

While the foregoing description teaches the use of the invention insimulated baseball and football games, it is apparent that the sameprinciples can be applied to other games, such as a basketball, hockey,soccer, etc., in which it is desired to provide performancecharacteristics for the pieces and to relate such characteristics to thecharacteristics of other playing pieces or to chancecontrolled devices.Therefore, the foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative, andmodifications can be made in the invention as will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

The invention claimed is:

1. Simulated football game apparatus comprising, in combination, agameboard having a miniature football field displayed thereon withspaces delineated thereon for movement of playing pieces thereon, afirst group of playing pieces constituting the members of one footballteam and bearing a common distinguishing characteristic for identifyingthe pieces of that group with one contestant, a second group of playingpieces, constituting the members of another football team and bearing acommon distinguishing characteristic different from the distinguishingcharacteristic of the first group for identifying the pieces of thesecond group with another contestant, chance-controlled means fordetermining the outcome of interactions between playing pieces from saidfirst and second groups, said chancecontrolled means bearing a set ofindicia defining a plurality of distinctive characteristics and havingmeans for selecting different indicia by chance, said indicia beingstatistically weighted so that certain indicia will be selected morefrequently by chance than other indicia, each of at least some of theplaying pieces in one of the groups of playing pieces bearing aplurality of different indicia, the indicia of such pieces constitutingdifferent plural-indicia sub-sets of the indicia of saidchance-controlled means and having distinctive characteristics identicalto characteristics of the indicia of said set on said chance-controlledmeans, whereby play results involving an indicia-bearing playing pieceare determined in accordance with whether the sub-set of that playingpiece has a characteristic identical to that of an indicium selected bysaid chance-controlled means, and selector means for enabling acontestant to designate particular playing pieces for execution offootball play functions, said selector means bearing a plurality ofselectable playing-piece-designating symbols, at least some of saidindicia-bearing playing pieces also bearing symbols having distinctivecharacteristics identical to characteristics of symbols of said selectormeans but being clearly distinguished from the playing piece indicia.

2. Simulated football game apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid indicia characteristics comprise a plurality of colors.

3. Simulated football game apparatus in accordance with claim 1, whereinsaid chance-controlled means is a spinner and said indiciacharacteristics comprise a plurality of colors, the colors of theindicia of said spinner occupying areas of said spinner of differentcircumferential length.

1. Simulated football game apparatus comprising, in combination, agameboard having a miniature football field displayed thereon withspaces delineated thereon for movement of playing pieces thereon, afirst group of playing pieces constituting the members of one footballteam and bearing a common distinguishing characteristic for identifyingthe pieces of that group with one contestant, a second group of playingpieces, constituting the members of another football team and bearing acommon distinguishing characteristic different from the distinguishingcharacteristic of the first group for identifying the pieces of thesecond group with another contestant, chance-controlled means fordetermining the outcome of interactions between playing pieces from saidfirst and second groups, said chance-controlled means bearing a set ofindicia defining a plurality of distinctive characteristics and havingmeans for selecting different indicia by chance, said indicia beingstatistically weighted so that certain indicia will be selected morefrequently by chance than other indicia, each of at least some of theplaying pieces in one of the groups of playing pieces bearing aplurality of different indicia, the indicia of such pieces constitutingdifferent plural-indicia sub-sets of the indicia of saidchance-controlled means and having distinctive characteristics identicalto characteristics of the indicia of said set on said chance-controlledmeans, whereby play results involving an indicia-bearing playing pieceare determined in accordance with whether the sub-set of that playingpiece has a characteristic identical to that of an indicium selected bysaid chance-controlled means, and selector means for enabling acontestant to designate particular playing pieces for execution offootball play functions, said selector means bearing a plurality ofselectable playing-piece-designating symbols, at least some of saidindicia-bearing playing pieces also bearing symbols having distinctivecHaracteristics identical to characteristics of symbols of said selectormeans but being clearly distinguished from the playing piece indicia. 2.Simulated football game apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid indicia characteristics comprise a plurality of colors. 3.Simulated football game apparatus in accordance with claim 1, whereinsaid chance-controlled means is a spinner and said indiciacharacteristics comprise a plurality of colors, the colors of theindicia of said spinner occupying areas of said spinner of differentcircumferential length.